Supreme HQ Allied Expeditionary Force (April 30, 1945)
FROM
(A) SHAEF MAIN
ORIGINATOR
PRD, Communique Section
DATE-TIME OF ORIGIN
301100B April
TO FOR ACTION
(1) AGWAR
(2) NAVY DEPARTMENT
TO (W) FOR INFORMATION (INFO)
(3) TAC HQ 12 ARMY GP
(4) MAIN 12 ARMY GP
(5) AIR STAFF MAIN
(6) ANCXF
(7) EXFOR MAIN
(8) EXFOR REAR
(9) DEFENSOR, OTTAWA
(10) CANADIAN C/S, OTTAWA
(11) WAR OFFICE
(12) ADMIRALTY
(13) AIR MINISTRY
(14) UNITED KINGDOM BASE
(15) SACSEA
(16) CMHQ (Pass to RCAF & RCN)
(17) COM ZONE
(18) SHAEF REAR
(19) SHAEF MAIN
(20) HQ SIXTH ARMY GP
(21) WOIA OR OWI WASHINGTON FOR RELEASE TO COMBINED U.S. AND CANADIAN PRESS AND RADIO AT 0900 HOURS GMT
(REF NO.)
NONE
(CLASSIFICATION)
IN THE CLEAR
Communiqué No. 387
UNCLASSIFIED: Allied forces crossed the Leda River near its junction with the Ems River and occupied most of Leer. Good advances were made in the area northwest of Rotenburg where the enemy salient between Bremen and Zeven is being reduced.
Farther east we are mopping up in Lauenburg after crossing the Elbe River upstream from Hamburg against moderate resistance.
Enemy positions southeast of Hamburg and near Lauenberg, and road and rail transport between Lauenburg and Ludwigslust and east of Schwerin, were attacked by fighter-bombers and rocket-firing fighters. Thirteen enemy aircraft were shot down over our Elbe bridgehead.
In Czechoslovakia, our forces captured an airfield one mile northeast of Eger (Cheb) which was strongly defended by 1,000 enemy troops. Three hundred and fifty prisoners were taken.
Northeast of Straubing, in Germany, our troops captured Lam.
Southeast of Regensburg, our armor captured Plattling, entered Haader and advanced eight miles southeast of the town.
Our infantry elements cleared Straubing and reached the vicinity of Fierlbrunn. Other units captured Malmersdorf, entered Schatzhofen and reached the vicinity of Moosburg.
At Moosburg, a POW camp of 27,000 British and American troops was liberated.
Farther west our infantry reached the vicinity of Hirschbach, 22 miles north of Munich.
Our forces captured and cleared the concentration camp near Dachau. Approximately 32,000 persons were liberated. Three hundred SS guards at the camp were quickly overcome.
Our armor entered the outskirts of Munich.
We reached the northern end of the Ammersee. Armored spearheads swung around its southern tip and pushed five miles northward along the eastern shore to Herrsching.
To the south, other armor reached Spatzenhausen. We captured Saulgrub and drove southward into the Bavarian Alps to Oberammergau.
South of Fuessen, we expanded our hold in Austria and advanced to the vicinity of Rossschlaeg.
In the area north of the eastern end of the Constance Lake, our units pushed southeast along a front of nearly 25 miles. Advances of up to 15 miles brought our forces to Leutkirch and Weingarten.
From the Munich area to the Iller Canal, we took 35,890 prisoners, and between the Iller Canal and the Rhine, 3,500, including two generals.
Allied forces in the west captured 74,986 prisoners 28 April.
Several large road convoys mainly moving southward in the area east and south of Pilsen, and a large number of railcars, many of them loaded with motor transport, in the same area were attacked by fighter-bombers, throughout the day more than 900 road vehicles and rail cars were destroyed or damaged.
Enemy strongpoints west of Munich, at Hattenhofen, Mammendorf and Fuerstenfeldbruck, scattered road and rail traffic moving southward from Munich and airfields in the area east and southeast of the city were bombed by other fighter-bombers. Many enemy aircraft were destroyed or damaged on the ground.
Yesterday afternoon, unescorted heavy bombers dropped over 600 tons of food supplies for the Dutch population in enemy-occupied Holland.
In the day’s operations, 17 enemy aircraft were shot down including those destroyed in the Elbe bridgehead area. Nine of our fighters are missing.
COORDINATED WITH: G-2, G-3 to C/S
THIS MESSAGE MAY BE SENT IN CLEAR BY ANY MEANS
/s/
Precedence
“OP” - AGWAR
“P” - Others
ORIGINATING DIVISION
PRD, Communique Section
NAME AND RANK TYPED. TEL. NO.
D. R. JORDAN, Lt Col FA4655
AUTHENTICATING SIGNATURE
/s/
